How Mythusmage Would Change D&D for 4th Edition if Wizards Hired Him

[wedgeski]

Well I think it should be either ring binder or spiral bound.

*Looks at 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium, or rather, at all the torn pages spewing out from it*

For the love of all that is pure and properly bound, please, no!

 

[wedgeski]

I just hope they's decide a position and size for the logo and title and stick with it, so that they line up on the shelf. I know it's a small point, but a little attention to detail goes along way.

Small indeed, but I agree with it 100%.

 

[wedgeski]

Wizard's D&D books have a distinctive look. The customer can usually pick out a WotC D&D product with little trouble. At the same time it is a busy look. Lots of business going on both inside and outside a tome. So for 4th edition what say we simplify?

MM, your pervasive KISS approach would kill one of the inherent attractions of Wizards' books to casual buyers, which is their aesthetic. You *can* spot a WotC D&D book amidst a sea of other supplements, and though the overall design is now getting a little old, I still like it a lot. Internally, they also look great. Clean, simple designs are all well and good, but they do not draw the eye on the shelf to that book above all the others. If a design doesn't do that, then surely it has fallen at the first hurdle.

 

[Remathilis]

Actually, a couple "special edition" core rules with different covers would be cool... if they weren't 75$ like the deluxe one...

 

[Umbran]

A D&D book is not a college paper or technical manual and does not have to be written as such. (I'll deal with this in depth later.)

Ah, but a D&D book is a reference text, among other things.

That means you want sections to be well indexed and rather dense (to reduct the page-flipping required to reach a given item.) Large font would work against you there. Similarly, you want your art layed out so that it works as landmarks, so the flipper can tell where he is without pausing to read page headers or numbers.

 

[Rel]

I'm not going to buy 4th edition so I don't care.

5th edition will be beamed directly into my brain from the Interwebisphere through my Neural Jack where my cyber-mindlink will format it in the style that I've prechosen for that week.

I predict the people will still bitch about the art though.

 

[glass]

Actually, a couple "special edition" core rules with different covers would be cool... if they weren't 75$ like the deluxe one...

Unfortunately, they probably would be. After all, art direction and commisioning isn't cheap.


glass.

 

[Quasqueton]

Do not put the "edition number" anywhere on or in the book. It should be "Dungeons & Dragons", not "Dungeons & Dragons X.Y edition".

Quasqueton

 

[glass]

Do not put the "edition number" anywhere on or in the book. It should be "Dungeons & Dragons", not "Dungeons & Dragons X.Y edition".

I don't mind it saying 4th edition on it somewhere, but I don't want to ever see another x.5 (or any other decimal) again.


glass.

 

[Bront]

I don't mind it saying 4th edition on it somewhere, but I don't want to ever see another x.5 (or any other decimal) again.


glass.

While 3.5 was needed after 3.0 redid the system from the ground up, I agree.

Please don't make the cover dull, nor make it bound (though, an optional bound reference edition wouldn't bother me). I hated the 2nd Ed Monsterous Manual for being bound, and while it makes for adding other rules and such easier, I'd rather have it in a mutable electronic format (RTF, perhaps OCRed or selectable PDF, or hypertext/Wiki'd) than a mutable paper one. Too much chance of loosing something or having things otherwise destroyed, especialy with the abuse that I know many gamers would give it. Plus, then any optional rules would have to be released in a similar format, so you could add it in, or else it'd be pointless. And that would also result in you having to pay for eratta since they'd have to reproduce the entire page.

I'm in no hurry for 4th, but I know it's probably coming in the next 5 years or so. Still issues, comments, tweeks, updates, and other such things.

Issues that they'll probably tweek? Some spells (always happens, not sure what direction they'll go with them, probably a bit more streamlining), Hopefully make Medium Armor a bit more interesting (Right now, it's usually light or heavy, except in the case of the Barbarian), probably add action points in some form to the base rules (or at least as a core option), expand and tweak the feats (Maybe adding more, droping their power, and letting you get more), hopefully smooth the power curve out a bit (Mostly a few high level adjustments, perhaps a few low level adjustments), tweak item creation, perhaps add a few core classes (The Scout, Swashbuckler, and Warlock are quite popular as core classes), some class tweeks (Particularly with the fighter, likely to give him a few other unique abilities to differentiate him from the swashbuckler), tweek the core races a bit (give gnomes a bit more of a distinction, perhaps by making them a bit more fey like, make the half-elf a bit better/more distictively himself vs an underpowered elf, give the half-orc some flavor), maybe add a core race (Not likely), include the swift/free/imediate action distinctions to the combat system, perhaps adjust ASF or at least how they describe it (I've got no problem with it, but others wish it was delt with better), and probably tweek the skill system a bit (Perhaps adjust things like synergies, change how ranks work, adjust DCs, ect).

I'm sure there's more, but that's a good starter list. I won't suggest any particular fixes beyond what I mentioned, just what I see happening. Obviously, I could be wrong.